My Fantasy Football Team Is Bad, But I Blame Others

The NFL has already been a whirlwind this year, rife with copious injuries and unexpected COVID-related postponements. Naturally, that would mean that many fantasy football participants are also feeling the pain, and for me, that’s the reality in one particular league. But could any of this be my fault? No way. Can’t be.

First off, I’m in four fantasy football leagues, so if you’re reading this to get insight into how many leagues is too many, look no further. It’s four. The title of the article, however, would not suggest that it’s not the amount of leagues I’m in that caused my quick demise, but whom needs to be blamed.

For reference, below is the lineup I drafted in late August for a PPR league that plays one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, one tight end, one flex, one DST, and one kicker and includes eight bench spots and two IR/COVID slots (now four because thanks, Titans and Patriots).

Quarterbacks
Drew Brees
Cam Newton

Running Backs
Austin Ekeler
Todd Gurley
James White
Chase Edmonds

Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas
Mike Evans
Courtland Sutton
DeVante Parker
Diontae Johnson
Justin Jefferson
Bryan Edwards

Tight End
Darren Waller

DST
Pittsburgh Steelers

Kicker
Harrison Butker

If you’re like me, you know you drafted well and that everything that could have happened to prevent your run toward a fantasy championship has happened. You also probably understand that injuries happen and, in the year of COVID, extenuating circumstances are afoot. But there are even more factors outside our control that contribute to poor play, so now we look to the entities responsible and call them out for being the deceivers they truly are.

ESPN

The worldwide leader in sports has been at the fore of fantasy football analysis since its sharp rise in the age of the internet. It’s current “experts”—Matthew Berry, Field Yates, Stephania Bell, and others—have been delivering fantasy-related content for years and are generally considered reliable sources. This year, however, has caused me to lose faith.

Season after season, I’ve relied on these people to provide trustworthy weekly rankings and insights to help guide me to two past championships and a few other championship appearances. This year, they touted the certainty of Michael Thomas’ greatness, raved about Cam Newton’s top-five finished in full seasons, called Sutton a breakout performer, and ranked Ekeler as a top-10 stud. Well guess what, fantasy gurus, they all either got hurt or got COVID within the first few weeks, and now I’m practically out of contention at 1–4.

I’m not saying that they could have predicted all of these injuries, but where was the analysis on depth? Where were the likes of Mike Davis and Chase Claypool on your preseason rankings? Why did you tell me Michael Thomas would probably play in Week 5? Gee, THANKS.

Sleeper

The hottest semi-new fantasy sports app Sleeper has all of the tools and gadgets any great fantasy owner needs to succeed. This particular league is the only one I’m in that uses Sleeper; two others are on ESPN, and one is on Yahoo (trash app, but at least I’m good in that league). When my commissioner in this particular league announced the switch from the ESPN app last season, I was excited by the modern interface, fun avatars, consistent player updates, little in-match win probability bar, and mock draft format. What didn’t come with that was the warning that all of these gimmicks are distracting.

One thing ESPN has right is the app—simple, effective, enough—and when this league last used the ESPN app, I made it to the championship. Coincidence? I think not! I’ve been successful with the Yahoo app, too, and that’s only crappy because it puts receivers above running backs on the lineup. I’ll give Sleeper some credit for being the first app to allow players in COVID-postponed games to be placed in IR slots, but it’s not like that helps me improve my team.

Although I admit that Sleeper has its perks, it just packs in too many unnecessary features to foster true focus. Without it, my decision-making would get far better and that 1–4 record could very well be its reciprocal.

Receivers

This one is the most frustrating. I of course understand that football is a violent, brutal game played by ultracompetitive man-children who will often push their bodies harder than their bodies can handle. But what’s happened this year has been just awful.

Michael Thomas limped his way through Week 1 and has since been out. Mike Evans, in the same week against Thomas’ Saints, was visibly hampered by an ailing hamstring, and DeVante Parker left his first game with the same issue, both players immediately putting me behind the 8 ball. Courtland Sutton might as well have just sat out this year. Diontae Johnson was nearly my savior, but nope—a concussion and a back injury in consecutive games. You might then see Justin Jefferson and think, “Well, there’s your savior, right?” Wrong. I dropped him after Week 1 like an idiot.

Mainly, I blame Thomas, because without him, Brees has been as threatening as Heimlich from A Bug’s Life. In a league that rewards quarterbacks greatly, this was not the season for my top pick and Brees hookup to watch from the sidelines. Can’t guard Mike? More like, can’t walk Mike. I better see him play in Week 7 after their bye, or I’ll consider quitting. (I won’t, though, because those people suck.)

There’s Always Next Year

Clearly, I’m frustrated with fantasy football. I can’t catch a single break in the league referenced in this article, and it’s not my fault. Between poor analysis, a fun but distracting app, and annoying injuries, I’m having a bad time. That all being noted, I’m doing well in three other leagues, which softens the blow. I suppose there’s always next year, but if nothing changes, my prospects will be gloomy at best.